Line 5, coming to Yonge and Eglinton

With $5.3 billion in capital investment and 19 km of rapid transit intersecting Toronto’s main subway artery, Yonge and Eglinton is emerging as one of the most connected and important mobility hubs in the country. It is in this context, with one of the largest transit projects in Canada as a backdrop, that Reserve Properties and Westdale Properties announced a much anticipated joint venture, Line 5.

“The impact the new LRT will have on Yonge and Eglinton is hard for people to conceptualize,” says Shane Fenton, COO, Reserve Properties. “It’s not hyperbole to say this is going to drastically change Toronto. With rapid transit in every direction, Yonge and Eglinton will emerge as the new centre of the city. As developers, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to contribute to this transformation and help realize its full potential.”

Inspired by the physical shift taking place around it, Line 5 responds directly to the fundamental changes in the way Torontonians live their lives. From transit and ride-sharing to the rise of online shopping and the decentralization of the workplace to the hyper-focus on health and wellness, the way people live in 2018 is radically different from how people lived even five years ago.

“Westdale Properties is a long-time believer in Yonge and Eglinton. We were one of the first to invest in the neighbourhood when we began our 88 On Broadway project in 2005,” says Mitchell Cohen, COO, Westdale Properties. “By partnering with Reserve on Line 5, we’re returning to the community and continuing to push it forward. Communities are defined by the people who inhabit them and Yonge and Eglinton is bursting with energy. We want to harness that energy and generate something truly innovative.”

“Five years ago we didn’t have Uber and Lyft in Toronto. We didn’t have Foodora and Ritual. Online shopping wasn’t at the level it is today, health and wellness weren’t as prevalent as they are today,” adds Fenton. “We take for granted how much our lives have changed in such a short span.”

The pursuit of Line 5 is to address the changes in how we live, not only through an embrace of more technology, but through the thoughtful application of space: A dedicated ride-share pick-up is intended to alleviate the impact on local traffic; over-sized parcel storage takes the clutter off the concierge desk; hot and cold storage in the lobby ensures the convenience of ordering food online doesn’t come with diminishing returns.

Designed by IBI and U31 to fulfill a simple but elusive goal, condos should respond to how we live now. “Line 5 advances what it truly means to be an urbanist,” says architect Mansoor Kazerouni, global director Buildings at IBI Group and lead consultant on the Crosstown LRT.

Clad with high-contrast metal, mesh and natural materials, Line 5’s two 36- and 33-storey towers and eight-storey podium aim to add a new and unexpected contrast to the existing condos at Yonge and Eglinton.

Line 5’s wellness suite includes a more than 10,000-sq-ft. state-of-the-art fitness facility on the ground floor with dedicated spaces for on-demand interactive training systems like PRAMA and Peloton, personal training, and yoga overlooking an outdoor Zen garden. Wellness spaces clad in calm stone materials include a spa with a steam room, saunas and a pool with a nanotech skylight.

On the upper amenity floor, a co-working space and social club opens to a designer pool through a glass nana wall that connects inside and out. Using the dynamic layering of rich materials, curving banquettes, and stone harvest tables, U31 tailored the design of the flexible space to support those working remotely during the day while offering opportunities to socialize at night. Intricate design details extend to all shared spaces, including two communal kitchens, three outdoor lounges, an art room, outdoor theatre, library, and game spaces.

Phase one at Line 5 Condos will feature 450 of 930 units with prices starting in the $300s. For more information, register at line5condos.com.Chinese